Day Labor

October 23, 2005–January 9, 2006

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is pleased to present Day Labor, a group exhibition featuring works by eighteen international artists from Croatia, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Turkey, The Netherlands, and the United States. Using various media, including photography and video, the artists explore the ways in which cultural identity and bodily perception are driven and socially conditioned by the global economy and the media. Day Labor is on view from October 23, 2005 through January 9, 2006.

The exhibition examines society's obsession with the notion of "becoming," as well as the libidinal or visceral aspects of the labor trade. From day laborer to pop star, from paramilitary leader to corporate giant, the global economy is continually churning out labels, brands, and archetypes. Many of the artists in Day Labor challenge these social constructs by inserting themselves into the public domain. Some recreate situations in the workforce as a means to comment on the brutality, inequity, and the absurdity of the marketplace. In revealing the various aspects of the labor trade and the attendant values placed on race, gender, class, and body type, Day Labor will examine market values and economic barometers, immigration, global tourism, corporate culture, and high culture status.

Artists in Day Labor include: Can Altay (b. 1975, Ankara, Turkey; lives and works in Ankara); Alex Bag (b. New York City; lives and works in Jersey City); Tamy Ben-Tor (b. 1975, Jerusalem, Israel; lives and works in New York); Daniel Bozhkov (b. 1968, Aytos, Bulgaria; lives and works in New York); Esra Ersen (b. 1970, Ankara, Turkey; lives and works in Istanbul); Jonah Freeman (b. 1975, Santa Fe, New Mexico; lives and works in Brooklyn); Coco Fusco (b. 1960, New York; lives and works in New York); Christy Gast (b. 1976, Coldwater, Ohio; lives and works in Brooklyn); Ignacio Gonzalez-Lang (b. 1975, San Juan, Puerto Rico; lives and works in New York); Matthieu Laurette (b. 1970, Villeneuve St. Georges, France; lives and works in Paris and New York); Daniel Lefcourt (b. 1975, New York City; lives and works in Brooklyn); Will Kwan (b. 1978, Hong Kong; lives and works in Maastricht, The Netherlands and New York); Andreja Kuluncic (b. 1968, Subotica, Yugoslavia, lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia); Yoshua Okon (b. 1970, Mexico City, Mexico; lives and works in Mexico City and Los Angeles); Nira Pereg (b. 1969, Tel Aviv, Israel; lives and works in Tel Aviv and Germany); Mika Rottenberg (b. 1976, Buenos Aires, Argentina; lives and works in New York); Hank Willis Thomas (b. 1976, New York; lives and works in San Francisco); and Aaron Young (b. 1972, San Francisco, California; lives and works in New York).